Grass-roots sports enthusiasts will have the chance to rub shoulders with some of the best athletes on the planet at the Herald’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards.

The awards, being held at Plymouth Pavilions on Monday, January 29, will celebrate all that is good about sport and sports people in and from the Plymouth area.

Make no mistake about it, Plymouth produce world-class sporting stars, in the shape of diver Tom Daley, cricket’s Heather Knight, swimmer Ben Proud and international rugby player Henry Slade.

But for every Slade, Knight, Proud or Daley, there is a host of city sporting people, largely unsung heroes, who help Plymouth’s stars of the future reach their full potential.

These people put in countless unpaid hours at grass roots level, coaching DJM football teams, or running the line for their local side.

Their clubs know how valuable they are – and just once a year, at the Herald’s awards ceremony – they get the chance to take a bow for all the hard work they put in each and every year.

But getting them to the podium in the first place is your job – the sports fans of Plymouth.

Every year we – The Herald – ask for the Plymouth public to vote for the person most deserving winner of each of the awards categories. Details on how to vote are below.

Each nominee will be judged on their achievements and not on the number of nominations they receive, and judges will shortlist the best.

Categories this year are:

- Administrator of the Year - Amateur Sports Personality of the Year - Champagne Moment of the Year - Coach of the Year - Community Sports Club of the Year - Outstanding Contribution to Sport - Sports Official of the Year - Sport Personality of the Year - Sports Teacher of the Year - Team of the Year - Young Sports Personality of the Year - The Rob Daley Award

The Rob Daley Award was named in honour of Tom Daley’s dad, who died in May 2011 after a five-year battle with a brain tumour, aged only 40.

It is presented to the athlete who, in the opinion of his and her nominees, has overcome considerable odds to excel at their sport.

In 2016, it was Plymouth Diving’s Sarah Barrow that fought of still competition to land the top prize. Fellow divers Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow won the champagne moment after winning a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Rio.

Swimming’s Matthew Dixon won the young sports personality of the year, Tavistock hockey men’s first team landed the team prize and inspirational teenager Doaa Shayea picked up the Rob Daley award.